SMITE Interviews: The Games of 2013 - SMITE

There are a massive amount of games coming out in 2013, more than we could include in all of our "Lists" of what we're personally looking forward to this year. But that doesn't mean we're not going to shine the light on each game that's due to hit in the next twelve months. With that in mind, we reached out to every developer releasing a game in 2013, to answer a few questions and let us know what the year has in store for each of them. As we receive the answers, we're shining the spotlight on each game. Today is all about the third-person combat MOBA: SMITE from Hi-Rez Studios. We caught up with COO Todd Harris to answer a few questions about the MOBA with MMO combat.

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MMORPG: What does 2013 have in store for your game?

TODD HARRIS: The past few months of SMITE Beta we've been focused on features for the competitive scene. We've delivered a great spectator camera, demo/replay system, team support, and ranked game support.

In 2013 we'll continue to improve those features but it is really about 1.) more awesome gods to play and 2.) continuing to improve the graphics, UI, and game balance so SMITE is polished before official release.

MMORPG: How do you think your game will stand out from the crowd of this year's releases?

TODD HARRIS: Well, we're not just another MOBA. 2012 was a great year for MOBA games with growing player counts and the announcement of other DoTA-inspired titles. So it is exciting to see this entire new genre of games. However it feels like the genre is getting a bit stale. With SMITE, we try to stand out by offering gameplay that feels different -specifically, the third-person camera, feel of MMO controls, and more visceral in your face combat. If people prefer the top-down view there are plenty of great titles already, but we think SMITE will appeal to those who enjoy that third-person perspective and and MMO combat feel.

MMORPG: What's the number one thing you want our readers to know about your game going into launch?

TODD HARRIS: We plan on kicking off launch with competitive teams being able to qualify toward a 100K tournament so that is pretty exciting. But more than that we want players to know that launch is just the beginning for us. There are a lot of deities across world literature and we will be bringing many more awesome gods into the SMITE universe.

William Murphy / Bill is the Managing Editor of MMORPG.com, RTSGuru.com, and lover of all things gaming. He's been playing and writing about MMOs and geekery since 2002. Be sure to follow him on Twitter for all of his pointless rambling.